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This is the first I've heard about this. I may have to dig out my baptismal certificate again!
Cornwall Council to offer tax breaks based on religious beliefs
By cg_graham | Posted: August 20, 2016
Cornwall Council is granting tax-breaks to people because of their religious beliefs – and Catholics are getting more than anyone else.
The news is unlikely to please Cornwall's 2,169 Jedi Knights, who form the county's largest single non-Christian "religious" group.
The council is simply implementing national government rules but it does have some discretion over who qualifies.
The British Humanist Association said the rules were unfair and should be changed.
All of the discounts granted last year were to people who follow some form of the Christian faith.
Details of various ways you can get a tax discount are posted on the council's website.
Councils can grant exemptions from council tax in a range of different circumstances.
One of these relates to dwellings "held for the purpose of being available for occupation by a minister of any religious denomination as a residence from which to perform the duties of their office".
According to an answer to a Freedom of Information Act request, there are nine such properties in Cornwall. It is not known if Cornwall Council rejected any applications, but the council has not had to contest any appeals.
The numbers are very small and the loss to council revenue is only a tiny percentage of overall income.
Nevertheless the answer to a further Freedom of Information question reveals that at least eight Catholics are enjoying a reduction in their council tax, compared with two who describe themselves as Anglican, two who are Church of England, and two who are Methodist.
In these cases, the council's acceptance of the religious grounds are partly responsible for the tax discount.
Details of the beneficiaries are confidential, but the answer suggests that the most likely groups are retired nuns, vicars and other clergy - who also need to qualify on income grounds.
The rules are set by the Department of Communities and Local Government, who said: "There are no grounds for people making appeals against council tax based solely on their religion – each appeal is taken on the merits of the case.
"However, councils can grant an exemption for unoccupied homes available to ministers of any religious denomination as a residence to perform their duties.
"There are 23 million households paying council tax in England, and local authorities granted this exemption to 969 properties in 2015/16. This is 0.004%.
"We should question if this is fair."
The British Humanist Association said that although it was not the most pressing issue facing the country, the rules were unfair and in need of reform.
"There are plenty of other charitable organisations which do worthy work and yet they are not recognised as being eligible for this sort of council tax discount," said campaigns manager Richy Thompson. "We should question if this is fair."
According to the most recent census data, Christians make up the overwhelming majority of Cornwall's religious groups. The census found that those describing themselves as "Jedi Knight" came a distant second, with Buddhists third and Pagan fourth. Those describing themselves as Islamist and Hindu were far behind.
The group which came bottom were those describing themselves as Humanist, although the second largest group of all was those who said they had no religion. According to the 2011 Census for Cornwall, religions ranked as follows:
Cornwall Council to offer tax breaks based on religious beliefs
By cg_graham | Posted: August 20, 2016
Cornwall Council is granting tax-breaks to people because of their religious beliefs – and Catholics are getting more than anyone else.
The news is unlikely to please Cornwall's 2,169 Jedi Knights, who form the county's largest single non-Christian "religious" group.
The council is simply implementing national government rules but it does have some discretion over who qualifies.
The British Humanist Association said the rules were unfair and should be changed.
All of the discounts granted last year were to people who follow some form of the Christian faith.
Details of various ways you can get a tax discount are posted on the council's website.
Councils can grant exemptions from council tax in a range of different circumstances.
One of these relates to dwellings "held for the purpose of being available for occupation by a minister of any religious denomination as a residence from which to perform the duties of their office".
According to an answer to a Freedom of Information Act request, there are nine such properties in Cornwall. It is not known if Cornwall Council rejected any applications, but the council has not had to contest any appeals.
The numbers are very small and the loss to council revenue is only a tiny percentage of overall income.
Nevertheless the answer to a further Freedom of Information question reveals that at least eight Catholics are enjoying a reduction in their council tax, compared with two who describe themselves as Anglican, two who are Church of England, and two who are Methodist.
In these cases, the council's acceptance of the religious grounds are partly responsible for the tax discount.
Details of the beneficiaries are confidential, but the answer suggests that the most likely groups are retired nuns, vicars and other clergy - who also need to qualify on income grounds.
The rules are set by the Department of Communities and Local Government, who said: "There are no grounds for people making appeals against council tax based solely on their religion – each appeal is taken on the merits of the case.
"However, councils can grant an exemption for unoccupied homes available to ministers of any religious denomination as a residence to perform their duties.
"There are 23 million households paying council tax in England, and local authorities granted this exemption to 969 properties in 2015/16. This is 0.004%.
"We should question if this is fair."
The British Humanist Association said that although it was not the most pressing issue facing the country, the rules were unfair and in need of reform.
"There are plenty of other charitable organisations which do worthy work and yet they are not recognised as being eligible for this sort of council tax discount," said campaigns manager Richy Thompson. "We should question if this is fair."
According to the most recent census data, Christians make up the overwhelming majority of Cornwall's religious groups. The census found that those describing themselves as "Jedi Knight" came a distant second, with Buddhists third and Pagan fourth. Those describing themselves as Islamist and Hindu were far behind.
The group which came bottom were those describing themselves as Humanist, although the second largest group of all was those who said they had no religion. According to the 2011 Census for Cornwall, religions ranked as follows:
- 1.Christian – 318,357
- 2.No religion - 161,320
- 3.Jedi Knight – 2,169
- 4.Buddhist – 1,726
- 5.Pagan – 1,429
- 6.Muslim (Islam) – 855
- 7.Hindu – 556
- 8.Spiritualist – 532
- 9.Mixed Religion – 530
- 10.Jewish – 389
- 11.Humanist – 224 (source: 2011 Census)